Thursday, September 4, 2014

The Roof at Mehrauli

As the restoration work in Mehrauli Archalogical Park gets approval, let’s look at the grave issue

The decision to renovate and restore monuments in the
Mehrauli Archalogical Park was long overdue, though late it is
nevertheless welcome. Among the tombs to be renovated is that of
Ghayasuddin Balban which dates back to 1286. Just like the older tomb of
Illtumish, this one also doesn’t have a roof. But since mausoleums of
such important personages couldn’t have been built roofless, it is fair
to assume that the roofs collapsed during the course of the centuries
after weathering many a monsoon or invasion by hostile forces. It would
be in the fitness of things if the ASI takes up the challenge of
restoring them as also that of Alauddin Khilji. This will no doubt be a
daunting task as no depiction of these tombs, complete with the roofs,
is available but architectural trends in those days and guesswork may be
of some help.

When one visited the tomb of Alauddin,
one found that a mongoose had made its home there in a hole. That was
over 40 years ago. A recent visit to Balban’s tomb revealed that a whole
mongoose family was active in it. Illtutmish’s tomb had a chameleon, a
big one, which changed colour frequently, with its throat getting knotty
as if it was about to shoot the poisonous “goli” which, as erroneously
believed, the “girgit” uses to attack those who try to impede its path.
One of the caretakers, however, disclosed that mongooses are pretty
common in the area and hide in Illtutmish’s tomb too. And this, he
thought, was a welcome sign since it kept snakes away, for no snake
however venomous would like to meddle with a mongoose. Otherwise
snake-bite cases in and around dilapidated monuments are not uncommon
during the rainy season.

One thing that ASI must keep
in mind while renovating Balban’s tomb is that the Slave ruler spent a
considerable part of his life at his estate in Hansi (now in Haryana).
Surely the ruins at the place if renovated, could throw fresh light on
this stern and able administrator. His palace, Kushaki Lal in Nizamuddin
is in a pitiable state and despite some repairs is still far from being
labelled as “restored”. Sikandar Lodi’s tomb in Lodi Park is also to be
renovated but what about the tomb of his son, Ibrahim Lodhi in Panipat,
the only tomb of the dynasty not in Delhi? Open to the elements, this
tomb can hardly be called a mausoleum.

It was built
courtesy Babar who, after the First Battle of Panipat, sent out his men
to find out the fate of his rival. They discovered the body of Ibrahim
among the slain, for he had died fighting gallantly and the Mughal
invader could not but salute his bravery. Babar had the body buried in a
mud grave which was later built upon by Ibrahim’s mother (the Sultana
Begum). She had been taken into protective custody by Babar, who later
allotted a special place to her among the ladies of his harem. But bent
on avenging her son’s death she bribed a cook to mix the dreadful poison
Kalakuta in the Mughal emperor’s food. Babar became seriously ill but
somehow survived. The effects of the poison, however, it is said, led to
his early death. A debatable point but worth consideration.

Ibrahim
Lodhi’s tomb should also get a roof and the buildings at Sikandra in
Agra, where Sikandar Lodi wanted to establish a new capital, too need to
be reclaimed. The tank he built is now known as Guru-ka-tal and the
tomb of Khwajasarai Itibari Khan, the royal eunuch who tortured Shah
Jahan in his last days in the Agra Fort, has become a gurudwara.
Actually the Khwajasarai had converted a Lodi monument to serve as his
future tomb. Nizam Khan Sikandar Lodi was the greatest king of the
short-lived dynasty and preserving his legacy so close to Delhi should
not be difficult. But one thing that no renovation can probably restore
is the missing grave of Balban. The grave of one of his sons and that of
another relative can be traced in the mausoleum but not the Slave
Sultan’s. It is said that he was cursed by a dervesh that after death
there would be no trace of his remains as he had punished a holy man on
the mere suspicion of witchcraft. But this is just a myth. May be a
successor king, the elements or vandals were really responsible for the
vanished grave. Still it takes away from the sanctity of the monument.

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